


The Last Word

by By_And_By



Category: LEGO Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Based on "The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special", F/M, The part that unexpectedly left me quite a bit saddened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27737986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/By_And_By/pseuds/By_And_By
Summary: “Ben?”She had been prepared for Darth Vader, even for Palpatine. But she hadn’t been prepared for this.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	The Last Word

“Ben?”

She had been prepared for Darth Vader, even for Palpatine. But she hadn’t been prepared for this.

Even with him in his full black regalia, that mask with its ugly red cracks back on his head, she can’t stop the flow of hope that fills her heart. The bond flares to life again, their proximity alone enough to fill with noise what’s been so silent for months now.

“That’s ‘Supreme Leader Kylo Ren’ to you.”

And just like that, her hope is dashed like ashes in the wind. She can feel the anger rolling off him in waves, the sting of rejection that permeates his being. The same rejection she felt from him just after the _Supremacy_. When, through the bond, she closed the door of the _Falcon_ on his kneeling form and pleading eyes.

There’s no time to think on that now, though. Not when she has to keep track of a totally clueless Luke Skywalker, who’s nothing more than a moisture farmer from Tatooine at this point. And not when Palpatine orders Ren (for he is still Kylo Ren at this point, the destructive, vengeful Supreme Leader,) to destroy her and Luke, and he moves to fight without a moment’s hesitation.

She has no choice but to clash her saber with his, like so many times before. _Like one more time to come, for him,_ she thinks briefly, the exertion of the fight not allowing her to dwell on the thought for long. When he Force pushes her into the wall, she’s briefly reminded of that first duel in the forests of Starkiller Base, of how she was knocked out cold when she hit that tree. Of how frightened she was, of how little she knew. Of how in some ways, things were so much simpler. When she was just Rey, and he was just her enemy.

But she’s not that girl anymore. And she quickly recovers, stopping him from slicing his young uncle in two.

Then Darth Vader appears, too, along with _another_ young Luke, albeit a few years older than the first one. As if things weren’t already complicated enough today. But at least now, she has an ally with awareness of the Force and a lightsaber. Which means she can give her mind and heart some reprieve by fighting Vader while Luke takes on Ren.

The lightning from her grandfather’s fingers and his cold, gleeful cackling trigger waves of emotions she can’t even begin to examine before she’s running towards him, ready to run him through like she wasn’t able to before. _You took… you took so much from me. Too much._ The thought fills her with bitterness and rage as the image of her golden blade descends on Palpatine’s form.

Only to be blocked by Ren.

He drives their blades upward into the air. She cries out, momentarily knocked off-balance, but quickly regains her awareness and resets her stance. She’s fought him before, even when she was confused and heartbroken. She can do it again. Those reassurances fill her with determination.

Only he doesn’t move back into a fighting stance. Instead, he extinguishes the crackling red blade of his saber.

“Join me,” his modulated voice says, somewhat like his natural tone but not enough, “and together, we can rule the galaxy.” The ferocity in her features dissipates at his plea, leaving only hurt, grief, and conflict in its wake. He’s holding his hand out to her again. The one she’d rejected on the _Supremacy_. The one she’d rejected on the _Steadfast_. The one she’d taken in the end.

But not in the way he wants her to now.

His words alone provide enough of a distraction for BB-8 to snatch the key from Palpatine. When Ren notices, he immediately reaches for it with the Force. But so does she. Honing in her focus, it flies past Ren and into her waiting hand. Like his grandfather’s lightsaber. In a snowy forest. A lifetime ago.

With the key once again solid in her hand, possibilities flash through her mind unbidden. Maybe with her new knowledge of what’s to come, she can lead him down a better path. Maybe she can correct what went wrong the first time. Maybe she can try to show him the light again. Maybe this time, he can stay. Maybe they’ll finally have a chance. Maybe––

No.

She’s seen the chaos that this power can cause. She doesn’t know what would happen to the timeline overall if she tried to pluck him from the past and keep him in the present. And he wouldn’t be satisfied with that. Not him as he is now.

He’s still filled with fury, with a need for power, for control. She wasn’t able to steer him from that in his own time. If she tried to force the situation on him by taking him from his newly won galaxy with the excuse that it was for his own good, he’d only resent her more. She’d have even less of a chance than she did back then.

But more than that, the galaxy needs him. In the end, she knows that he _will_ turn. He will run to her aid with nothing but a blaster and the clothes on his back. He will help her defeat her grandfather and save countless lives. He will bring _her_ back to life entirely. And they will share a kiss filled with passion and joy. They will truly be together for a beautiful heartfelt moment. Even if it’s his last.

If she tried to keep him now, she would lose her sweetest memory of him.

She tries to hold onto that thought as her heart breaks all over again.

She extinguishes her lightsaber as he ignites his own, letting out a raging cry as he barrels toward her. As she opens the gate that will take him back to his own time, back to the path he’s already found the light on, she takes the opportunity to say what she didn’t have the chance to before.

“Goodbye, Ben.”


End file.
